Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Sinful Saltine Toffee (a poor girl's See's fix)


The Perfection of Pre-Payday Pinterest Perusing...

While doing some fingertip exercises on one of those fabulously lazy Sundays spent under covers with a cup of tea, my mac and a  mystery marathon rolling in the background I stumbled upon Budget Bytes on Pinterest.  If you haven't checked out Pinterest heed my warning, it's addictive!


 'Tis season and I've been spread a little thin with nieces & nephews galore, holiday traveling, cocktail parties and the fact that there has never been a Cirque Du Soleil show that I could resist!



...needless to say Budget Bytes was a real find!  Beth has a ton of great recipes for those without a money tree growing in the backyard.

Okay back to my epically lazy Sunday ~ I'm surrounded by guilty pleasures but missing one essential item...CHOCOLATE! Sure, cravings can be managed but why?  If you find yourself questioning this then you know that giving in to temptation is not far behind.  Eventually there comes a point when one allows oneself to become frantic with desire, this was one of those moments. I wanted a special treat and I wanted it now! The search was on when what to my wandering eyes should appear...Saltine Toffee Candy!



 

The very best part is that I had all the ingredients I needed in my pantry.  The second best is the instant gratification bonus, this whole thing took about 20 minutes.

I was so excited that I twittered and facebooked the results of my obsessive search (photo above) and got some great suggestions for tweaking and holidaying this beauty up!  My mom/mentor said she attempted saltine toffee off of another recipe and the butter burned so really pay attention to the time and temperatures below.  Don't worry the longest you have to pay attention at one time is 6 minutes and that's what oven timers are for.  This created a perfect batch the first time around.


Ingredients

1 sleeve saltine crackers
1 cup of packed brown sugar
2 sticks of butter
1 bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips*
topping walnuts or shredded coconut*

*My lovely friend Ashley recommended a blend of white & milk chocolate chips and using crushed peppermint as a topping...yes, she is a genius!  I bet mint chocolate chips would be fantastic!

STEP 1: Line a baking sheet with foil. Arrange the saltine crackers in a single layer on the baking sheet. (break them in half to trim the edges if there is room on the sheet). Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.



STEP 2: In a medium pot, melt the butter and brown sugar over medium heat. When the butter begins to melt, give it one stir to combine the brown sugar and butter. Continue to heat the mixture, without stirring, until it comes to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, set a timer and let it boil for 3 minutes.



STEP 3: After three minutes, carefully pour the mixture over the saltine crackers. If needed, gently spread the mixture with a butter knife until all of the crackers are covered. Place the toffee covered crackers in the oven and bake for 6 minutes.



STEP 4: After 6 minutes of baking, turn off the oven and carefully remove the baking sheet. Once the bubbles subside, sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly over the top. The heat from the toffee should begin to melt the chips. Place the baking sheet back in the warm oven for 1-2 minutes or until the chocolate chips are glossy (this means they are melted). Spread the melted chips over the surface with a spatula or butter knife.





STEP 5: If topping the chocolate with coconut or other nuts, sprinkle them over the melted chocolate and gently press them in. Allow the candy to cool at room temperature until hardened. (I had to put the tray into the fridge after it had cooled) Break the candy into pieces and EAT!



STOP! It's not okay to lick your computer monitor!

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